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Instagram has long been the ecommerce giant of social media. But with its recent introduction of ‘Shoppable Posts’ it has truly asserted its dominance in the market.
From the abundance of online influencers using the platform, offering a breeding ground for brand partnerships, to the visual-first format that’s ideal for retail brands, it really is unlike any other social media platform. And with a fast-growing audience of over one billion users, it doesn’t look like Instagram will be putting on the brakes any time soon!
In this blog post, we discuss how you can use Instagram’s Shoppable Posts feature to boost online sales…
How do I get approved for Shoppable Posts?
Before setting up Shoppable Posts on your Instagram account, there is some basic criteria that you’ll need to meet:
- You must have an Instagram business profile.
- Your business must sell physical goods.
- Your Instagram profile must be connected to a Facebook Catalogue. You can set this up through Business Manager on Facebook, or by connecting your Shopify/BigCommerce online store.
If your brand meets all of these criteria then Instagram will automatically review your account to ensure it is eligible for Shoppable Posts. Instagram claims the review process usually takes a few days, but don’t be surprised if it takes longer.
Once the review process has finished you should receive a notification at the top of your Profile tab that says ‘Get Started’. If you don’t see this notification then simply go to your Settings and tap ‘Shopping’. From here tap ‘Continue’ and select the Facebook Product Catalogue that you want to connect to your business profile.
If you still can’t find the Shopping tab, then your account is probably still under review or failed to meet the criteria above.
How do I tag products on my posts?
Once you’ve done all of this you’re good to go! In the words of Instagram, “Once a business has a product catalogue connected to their account, tagging a product is as simple as tagging a person in a post…”
In order to tag products simply put together a post as normal. Once you get to the final screen and have added a caption and any relevant hashtags, simply click ‘Tag Products’ below ‘Tag People’.
Next, enter the name of each product that you want to tag and select the appropriate one. If you want to reposition the product tag on your image, simply hold and drag the tag in the same way you would if you were tagging a person.
From here, simply click ‘Share’ and watch the sales roll in!
How can I make the most of Shoppable Posts?
Even having access to Shoppable Posts should result in a huge boost in conversions through Instagram. But even so, it doesn’t hurt to have a few tricks up your sleeve to encourage these conversions even more.
Use Shoppable Tags wisely
Whilst having access to the Shoppable Posts feature can do wonders for your business, overusing the feature could result in the opposite effect. Overloading your audience with self-promotional posts or sales content will eventually lead to them switching off. This can result in more people scrolling past your posts, or even unfollowing your brand. Use the feature sparingly and focus on providing value to your followers; they won’t mind if you throw in the odd sales post every so often.
Be creative with it
Instagram has always been a visual platform, which is great for ecommerce brands. But with thousands of other brands posting similar content, you really have to go the extra mile if you want to stand out. Instead of a standard post telling people to ‘Go buy our new product’, why not try something more creative?
For example, you could bring your new product to an exciting location that aligns with your brand. Say your brand is launching a new summer line, you could invite some influencers down to an exclusive beach party and take some in-action shots of them wearing your new products.
Listen to the data
One of the great things about having an Instagram business profile is being able to access account analytics. Make the most of this data, as it can offer valuable insights on which posts are working best for your brand. If you notice that one particular format is performing particularly well, you could start using it more to encourage engagement and conversions.
This relatively new feature should really open the floodgates for any innovative ecommerce brands. Instagram has always been a popular platform for visual brands, but this will surely take things to the next level. And with the recent launch of Shoppable Posts for Stories, Instagram has truly cemented its place as the go-to social media platform for ecommerce brands.
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